


Physics

by justbygrace



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2017-12-28 04:47:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/987839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbygrace/pseuds/justbygrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teachers AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Physics

She's been hearing about him everywhere she's gone today. It was the first thing mentioned when she stepped into the teacher's lounge this morning, every student is abuzz with the news; the very walls seem to hum with the knowledge that there is a new Physics teacher. She tries to ignore it. 

Her students whisper across desks and pass notes and when interrupted fix her with their best abandoned puppy look. "But Miss Tyler! Did you see him?" No, no, she has not, nor does she have any intention of doing so, thank you very much. Her last fling with a fellow teacher ended with her in debt and holding onto the last shreds of her dignity with her fingernails and a liberal amount of concealer. He got fired, she didn't, but it was a near thing. She has no intention of doing that again.

It's a long day, made longer by the whispers and rumors that swirl around the edges of the corridors. She escapes to her car to eat lunch, unwilling to deal with all of the young and eligible teachers making doe eyes at the newcomer. By the time the last bell rings, her students are quite done with subtext and metaphors and are bolting for the door. She's not far behind, eager to get home to chips and ice cream and her quiet flat so she can grade papers and watch telly and ignore the rest of the world. She is scrabbling for purchase on her belongings when she sees a flash of tan trench coat, crazy chestnut hair, and impossibly long legs. She pauses in her mad dash for the door and regards the spot where he was before shaking her head and letting the flow of students carry her outside.

By the end of the week if she has to hear about the mysterious and enigmatic Doctor one more time she may very well scream. She hasn't eaten lunch with the other teachers all week, taking to the refuge of her car or, on one desperate occasion, the janitor's closet; it's not entirely rational, but she has to put up with sighs and swoons from her students, she does not want to deal with it from her fellow adults. It, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with her status as former Estate girl, relying on scholarships to get her degree, while the other teachers here are products of money and posh boarding schools. During the final period of the day, she almost demands a ten-page, single-spaced paper on what the Doctor's glasses have to do with 'Much Ado About Nothing' before she reigns in her irritation. And if she gives out a trifle more homework than usual, well, this particular class is on the fast-track to graduation and the real world and she might as well start them in on its darker sides early. 

The weekend passes quickly, too quickly, and then it is Monday morning and she stops by her favorite coffee shop, but the line is halfway to the door and she is already running late. Just as she turns to head back to the street, she thinks she catches a glimpse of some really great hair and a pin-striped suit, but she really is late and fifteen minutes later she is bypassing the lounge to head straight for her first class, freshman English, saints preserve her. She is startled to see a cup of coffee in the middle of her desk, steam still lazily curling out of the lid. Upon closer examination, she finds her name - first and last - etched across it. She takes an experimental sniff and is shocked to discover it's her usual caramel macchiato, double shot for Monday. The room is still blessedly empty and she sinks behind her desk to stare at the cup and ponder coincidences. 

At lunch she considers her car for a long moment, pauses in indecision in the middle of the hall, before squaring her shoulders and heading for the teacher's lounge. When she arrives at the doorway, she sticks her nose around the corner and sees Principal Poisson, (Madam Pompous, the kids call her when they think no one can hear, and Rose secretly agrees), giggling into her diet drink. So, perhaps not the lounge today. She backs up and runs straight into someone. She jumps away, apologizing before stopping short because it's _him_ , hair going in twenty-seven directions, coat flapping at his ankles, and he is staring at her through horn-rimmed glasses that she never had a thing for before this very moment. She opens her mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the Principal's voice trilling out the open doorway, "Doctor, I see you there!" and his face goes abruptly pale. She can't help the giggle that escapes her at that - he looks like a small boy with his hand stuck in the cookie jar. A grin splits his face and he holds out his hand, wiggling his fingers at her. "Run!" he whispers. And she laughs aloud and lets him pull her through the hallways, unsure of anything except that whatever adventure he's planning, she wants in on it.


End file.
